Systems and methods for routing decisions based on door usage data

ABSTRACT

The disclosed computer-implemented method may include identifying a transportation task within a dynamic transportation network, accessing a database of door closing event locations, wherein the database is populated from observed door closing events within the dynamic transportation network, determining location information specifying at least one of a pickup location and a drop-off location for the transportation task based at least in part on the database of door closing event locations, and providing the location information to a transportation provider computing device, wherein a transportation provider performs the transportation task that comprises at least one of picking up a transportation requestor at the pickup location and dropping off the transportation requestor at the drop-off location. Other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate a number of exemplary embodimentsand are a part of the specification. Together with the followingdescription, these drawings demonstrate and explain various principlesof the instant disclosure.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a transportation requestor accessing atransportation provider vehicle.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of door closing events occurring on stationaryvehicles.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of pickup and drop-off locations associatedwith door closing events.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a map of pickup and drop-off locations.

FIG. 5 is an illustration a computing device mounted on the dashboard ofa vehicle.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of an example method of providing door usageguidance to a transportation requestor device.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example system for detecting vehicledoor closings.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of example modules for determiningtransportation provider routing decisions.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of an example method for providing a routingdecision to a transportation provider device based on a historicalrecord of door closing events.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example system for matching transportationrequests with a dynamic transportation network that includes personalmobility vehicles.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of an example transportationrequestor/transportation provider management environment.

FIG. 12 is an illustration of an example data collection and applicationmanagement system.

Throughout the drawings, identical reference characters and descriptionsindicate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements. While theexemplary embodiments described herein are susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have beenshown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detailherein. However, the exemplary embodiments described herein are notintended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, theinstant disclosure covers all modifications, equivalents, andalternatives falling within the scope of the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure is generally directed to determining routingdecisions based on vehicle door usage data. A dynamic transportationnetwork that matches transportation requestors with transportationproviders for transportation services may benefit from routing decisionsbased on vehicle door usage data. The routing decisions may increase theefficiency of the dynamic transportation network and increasetransportation requestor satisfaction associated with transportationservices. Further, the routing decisions may increase the convenienceand quality of pickup and drop-off locations of transportationrequestors. In some examples, the methods of the present disclosure mayalso increase the accuracy of recording the time and location oftransportation requestor pickups and drop-offs thereby improving frauddetection by detecting when a transportation requestor has exited thetransportation provider vehicle and the transportation provider has notindicated the transportation service has ended.

Door usage data may include data associated with door closing events ona transportation provider vehicle. Data associated with a door closingevent may include the location of the vehicle at the time of the doorclosing, the day and time of the door closing, a number of passengersentering the vehicle through the door, etc. A dynamic transportationnetwork may receive data associated with door closing events frommultiple transportation provider devices over a network. The dynamictransportation network may store a historical record of the door closingevents and provide routing decisions to a transportation provider devicebased on the record of the door closing events. The dynamictransportation network may provide the routing decisions to atransportation provider's device over a network. The dynamictransportation network may provide routing decisions a transportationprovider's device including determining pickup and drop-off locationsbased on the location of a transportation requestor. A transportationrequestor may request a pickup or drop-off location that is located onthe side of a road. The dynamic transportation network may use map dataand door closing event data to route the transportation provider to thepickup or drop-off location such that the transportation requestor mayenter or exit the vehicle on the side with a higher convenience score(e.g., curbside). In some examples, the dynamic transportation networkmay use map data and door closing event data to route the transportationprovider to a pickup or drop-off location with a high location score. Alocation score of the pickup or drop-off location may be based on any ofa variety of factors. For example, the location score of the pickup ordrop-off location may be based on the fitness, convenience, safety,entry time, exit time, and/or legality of the pickup or drop-offlocation.

A dynamic transportation network may determine a transportation providerlocation score based on historical data of transportation requestorsentering or exiting the transportation provider's vehicle on the trafficside or curb side of the vehicle. Alternatively or additionally, adynamic transportation network may match transportation requests totransportation providers based on the transportation provider locationscores. For example, a dynamic transportation network may receive atransportation request for which there are multiple availabletransportation providers to fulfill the request. The dynamictransportation network may match the request with a transportationprovider based on the location scores of the available providers (e.g.,the dynamic transportation network may match the request with theavailable transportation provider having the highest location score).

Detecting a vehicle door closing may be accomplished using any suitablemethod. An example method may include receiving sensor data, processingthe sensor data, and determining that the sensor data corresponds to adoor closing event. The sensor data may be acquired by a computingdevice (e.g., smartphone) within a transportation provider's vehicle.The sensor data may be from an inertial measurement unit (e.g., agyroscope and/or an accelerometer) that measures speed and accelerationin multiple linear and rotation directions. A processor may process thedata using any suitable method. For example, a processor may use FastFourier Transform, time domain digital signal processing, linearization,filtering, finite impulse response, or a combination thereof to processthe sensor data. The sensor data processing may produce an eventsignature associated with the door closing event. The processor maydetect a door closing event associated with the vehicle based on theevent signature. Additionally or alternatively, sensors other thaninertial sensors may be used to determine the door closing eventsignature. For example, a computing device in the vehicle may include abarometric pressure sensor that measures a relative change in airpressure within the cabin of the vehicle caused by the closing of adoor. As another example, a computing device in the vehicle may includea microphone that senses sound waves in the cabin of the vehicle. A doorclosing on a vehicle may cause an impact sound wave that may be detectedby the signature of the sound wave. Other methods of detecting doorclosing events may include image processing, radar ranging, laserranging, radio frequency identification, or a combination thereof.

As will be explained in greater detail below, determining routingdecisions and providing the routing decisions to transportationproviders based on recorded door usage data using the systems andmethods disclosed herein may provide benefits to the operation of thedynamic transportation network. Accordingly, as may be appreciated, thesystems and methods described herein may improve the functioning of acomputer that implements transportation matching and routing. Forexample, these systems and methods may improve the functioning of thecomputer by improving transportation routing decisions. Additionally oralternatively, these systems and methods may improve the functioning ofthe computer by reducing the computing resources consumed to identifyappropriate transportation routing decisions (and, e.g., thereby freeingcomputing resources for other tasks, such as those directly and/orindirectly involved in transportation matching).

The following will provide, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, detaileddescriptions of door closing events on stationary vehicles. Descriptionsof FIG. 3 will provide details of pickup and drop-off locations based ondoor closing events. Descriptions of FIG. 4 will provide details of amap of a geographic area including pickup and drop-off locations basedon door closing events. Descriptions of FIG. 5 will provide details of adashboard mounted computing device that provides door usage guidance.Descriptions of FIG. 6 will provide details of a transportationrequestor computing device that provides door usage guidance.Descriptions of FIGS. 7 and 8 will provide details of a block diagramand modules for detecting door closing events. FIG. 9 will providedetails of a method for providing routing decisions to a transportationprovider device based on a historical record of door closing events.Descriptions of FIGS. 10-12 will provide details of an exampletransportation requestor/transportation provider management environment.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a transportation requestor accessing atransportation provider vehicle. A transportation requestor may access atransportation provider vehicle for transportation services in a dynamictransportation network. A transportation requestor may access thetransportation provider vehicle in proximity to a road that includesvehicle traffic. A transportation provider may stop the transportationprovider vehicle alongside the road in order to pick up or drop off atransportation requestor. For example, transportation provider vehicle104 may stop alongside curb 102 on road 112 to pick up or drop offtransportation requestor 114. Transportation requestor 114 may enter orexit vehicle 104 through door 106. Door 106 may open into traffic onroad 112 thereby creating an obstacle to traffic including cyclist 108and vehicle 110 and place transportation requestor 114 in the path ofoncoming traffic. In some examples, transportation requestor 114 mayenter or exit vehicle 104 through a left side vehicle door from curb 102thereby preventing transportation requestor 114 and the left sidevehicle door from obstructing traffic on road 112. When transportationrequestor 114 closes a door on vehicle 104 sensors within the vehiclemay detect the door closing event. In some examples, a dynamictransportation network may determine transportation provider routingdecisions based at least in part on the door closing event and providethe routing decisions to a transportation provider.

In some examples, a dynamic transportation network may determinelocation scores associated with pick and drop-off locations based on thelocation of the door closing event relative to the location of atransportation provider vehicle. For example, map data may indicate thatvehicle 104 is located on the left side of road 112 and door 106 isadjacent to oncoming traffic. A transportation requestor entering orexiting the right side of vehicle 104 may expose the transportationrequestor to oncoming traffic and therefore the right side of vehicle104 may have a lower location score than the left side of vehicle 104based on the risk to the transportation provider. Pickup and drop-offlocations on the left side of vehicle 104 when pulled over to the leftside of a road (e.g., curb 102 side) may have a higher location scorethan the right side of vehicle 104. The dynamic transportation networkmay use map data and door closing event data to route vehicle 104 to thepickup or drop-off location such that the transportation requestor mayenter or exit the vehicle on the side with a higher location score(e.g., curbside 102).

FIG. 2 is an illustration of door closing events on stationary vehicles.In some examples, a dynamic transportation network may make routingdecisions based on data associated with door closing events on a vehiclethat provides transportation services. For example, the dynamictransportation network may use data associated with which door(s) of avehicle have closed, the location of the vehicle at the time of doorclosing, the day and time of the door closing, the number of passengersentering the vehicle through the door, etc., in order to determinerouting decisions. Referring to FIG. 2, vehicle 204 may be atransportation provider vehicle operating in a dynamic transportationnetwork. Vehicle 204 may provide transportation services and bestationary on the right side of road 202 during the process of pickingup a transportation requestor or dropping off a transportationrequestor. The transportation requestor may close right door 206 afterentering or exiting the vehicle. A dynamic transportation network mayuse data associated with the right door 206 closing event in order todetermine transportation provider routing decisions. Vehicle 208 mayalso provide transportation services and be stationary on the right sideof road 202 during the process of picking up a transportation requestoror dropping off a transportation requestor. The transportation requestormay close left door 210 after entering or exiting the vehicle. A dynamictransportation network may use data associated with the left door 210closing event in order to determine transportation provider routingdecisions. Additionally or alternatively, data associated with doorclosings may be used to provide guidance to a transportation requestoras to which door the transportation requestor should enter or exit thevehicle. For example, data associated with door closings may be used toguide the transportation requestor to use right door 206 for entering orexiting the vehicle so that the transportation requestor may avoid anytraffic traveling on road 202. Data associated with door closings mayalso be used to control locking mechanisms on the vehicle doors. Forexample, vehicle 204 may lock the left door of the vehicle and unlockright door 206 so that the transportation requestor may enter or exitright door 206 only and therefore avoid any traffic traveling on road202.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of pickup and drop-off locations associatedwith door closing events. As described above with respect to FIG. 1, atransportation provider may stop a vehicle alongside a road to pick upor drop off a transportation requestor. When a transportation requestorenters or exits a transportation provider vehicle a door closing eventmay be detected. When the door closing event is detected, a location ofthe vehicle and/or a time stamp indicating the time of door closing maybe recorded. The location of the vehicle may be determined using methodsincluding, without limitation, a Global Positioning System (e.g., GPS)in the transportation providers device, a GPS in the transportationrequestors device, an average of the locations determined by the GPS inthe transportation providers device and the GPS in the transportationrequestors device, or a combination thereof. In some examples, a dynamictransportation network may store a historical record of door closingevents, the location of the door closing events, and a time stampassociated with the door closing events. A dynamic transportationnetwork may use the record associated with door closing events toprovide routing decisions to a transportation provider device. Therouting decisions may include pickup and drop-off locations (e.g., aprogrammed location) for transportation requesters to enter or exit atransportation provider vehicle. For example, locations 302, 308, 310,312, 314, and 316 may be located alongside traffic lane 306. Locations308, 312, 314, and 316 may be located adjacent to pedestrian walkways318 and 320 from which transportation requestors may enter or exittransportation provider vehicles. Locations 302, 308, 310, 312, 314, and316 may each have a location score associated with their respectivelocation. For example, locations 308, 312, 314, and 316 may have ahigher location score associated with their respective location thanlocations 302 and 310. Locations 302 and 310 may have a lower locationscore as transportation provider vehicle 322 may impede the flow oftraffic in lane 306 when stopped to pick up or drop off a passenger.Further, location 302 may have a lower location score due to atransportation requester being placed in oncoming traffic when enteringor exiting the left side of vehicle 322 at location 302. A dynamictransportation network may provide routing decisions to a transportationprovider device (e.g., smartphone) to route transportation providervehicles to pickup and drop-off locations based on the location scoresof the locations. For example, a dynamic transportation network mayprovide routing decisions to transportation provider devices to routetransportation provider vehicles to pickup and drop-off locations 308,312, 314, and 316 rather than locations 302 and 310 based on the higherlocation scores of locations 308, 312, 314, and 316. In some examples,when a transportation provider is picking up/dropping off at a locationthat has recorded a threshold number of left door closing events, thedynamic transportation network may instruct the transportation providerto remind the transportation requestor to exit the vehicle through thecorrect door, to travel to a location where the transportation requestormay exit the correct door, ask the transportation requestor which sideof the street they would prefer to exit, or a combination thereof. Insome examples, when a transportation provider is picking up/dropping offat a location that has recorded a threshold number of left door closingevents, the dynamic transportation network may instruct thetransportation requestor to find a nearby location that is moreconvenient for pickup/drop-off.

The location scores of the pick and drop-off location may be based on,without limitation, a historical record of door closing events, thelocation of door closing events, a time stamp of door closing eventsdetected by sensors and processors within the transportation providervehicles, or a combination thereof. The detection of door closing eventsand recording the location and time associated with door closing eventsis described in detail below with respect to FIGS. 7 and 8.

The location scores of the pick and drop-off location may be based onthe location of the door closing event relative to a location of atransportation provider vehicle. For example, map data may indicate thatpickup and drop-off location 302 is located on the left side of vehicle322 and is adjacent to oncoming traffic in lane 304. A transportationrequestor entering or exiting the left side of vehicle 322 may exposethe transportation requestor to oncoming traffic in lane 304, thereforepickup and drop-off location 302 may have a lower location score basedon the risk to the transportation provider. Pickup and drop-offlocations on the left side of a transportation provider vehicle that ispulled over to the right side of a road may have a lower location scorethan pickup and drop-off locations on the right side (e.g., curb side)of the road. Similarly, pickup and drop-off locations on the right sideof a transportation provider vehicle that is pulled over to the leftside of a road may have a lower location score than pickup and drop-offlocations on the left side (e.g., curb side) of the road.

In some examples, a dynamic transportation network may provide routingdecisions including determining pickup and drop-off locations based onthe location of a transportation requestor. A transportation requestormay request a pickup or drop-off location that is located on the side ofa road. The dynamic transportation network may use map data and doorclosing event data to route the transportation provider to the pickup ordrop-off location such that the transportation requestor may enter orexit the vehicle on the vehicle side with a higher location score (e.g.,curbside).

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a map of pickup and drop-off locations. Asdescribed with respect to FIG. 3, a dynamic transportation network mayprovide routing decisions to transportation provider devices to routetransportation provider vehicles to pickup and drop-off locations basedon the location scores of the locations. FIG. 4 shows map 400 withpickup and drop-off locations within a geographic area. Pickup anddrop-off locations 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412, and 414 may each have alocation score associated with their respective location. For example,pickup and drop-off location 402 may be located in a designated vehiclestop area and have a higher location score than pickup and drop-offlocation 404 that may be located on the side of a busy highway. Asanother example, pickup and drop-off location 406 may be located in anoffice complex and have a lower location score during normal workinghours than on weekends or evenings when the level of vehicle traffic issignificantly lower. As another example, pickup and drop-off locations408 and 410 may be located in a downtown entertainment area and havelower location scores during evenings and weekends than during thedaytime. Pickup and drop-off locations 412 and 414 may both be locatedwithin an airport. Pickup and drop-off location 412 may be located in anairport parking lot and have a higher location score than pickup anddrop-off location 414 located in a busy arrival/departure area of theairport terminal. Each of the location scores of the pick and drop-offlocation may be based on, without limitation, a record of door closingevents, the location of the door closing events, a time stamp of thedoor closing events detected by sensors and processors within thetransportation provider vehicles, or a combination thereof. The locationscore may be higher for pickup/drop-off locations that are determined tobe more convenient (e.g., right side of vehicle located on the rightside of the road) than pickup/drop-off locations that are determined tobe less convenient (e.g., left side of vehicle located on the right sideof the road).

In some examples, a transportation provider may begin a transportationservice by picking up a passenger and signaling the beginning of thetransportation service. The transportation provider may end atransportation service by dropping off the passenger and signaling theend of the transportation service. The transportation provider maysignal the beginning or end of the transportation service using anysuitable method. The transportation provider may signal the beginning orend of the transportation service by making an entry on a computingdevice (e.g., smartphone). The entry may be touching an icon indicatingthe beginning or end of the transportation service on a touchscreen of asmartphone. The signal indicating the beginning or end of thetransportation service may be transmitted to a transportation managementsystem (e.g., transportation management system 1102 of FIG. 11). In someexamples, a transportation provider may signal the beginning of atransportation service at a time and/or location that does notcorrespond to the actual pickup time or pickup location of thetransportation requestor. In some examples, a transportation providermay signal the ending of a transportation service at a time and/orlocation that does not correspond to the actual drop off time ordrop-off location of the transportation requestor. For example, atransportation provider may receive a request for transportation with apickup location designated as pickup and drop-off location 414. Thetransportation provider may signal the beginning of the transportationservice before actually picking up the transportation requestor therebycreating an inaccurate signaling of the time and/or location of pickingup the transportation requestor. As another example, a transportationprovider may receive a request for transportation with a drop-offlocation designated as pickup and drop-off location 408. Thetransportation provider may drop off the transportation requestor atpickup and drop-off location 408 without signaling the end of thetransportation service. The transportation provider may then at a latertime signal the end of the transportation service after actuallydropping off the transportation requestor thereby creating an inaccuratesignaling of the time and/or location of dropping off the transportationrequestor. In some examples, detecting a door closing event on atransportation provider vehicle and recording a time stamp and locationof the door closing event may create an accurate record of the actualtimes and locations of transportation pickups and drop-offs. A dynamictransportation network may calculate a time difference between a time ofa door closing event and a time of a signal associated with thebeginning or end of a transportation service. A dynamic transportationnetwork may also calculate a difference between a location of a doorclosing event and a location of a transportation provider device when asignal associated with the beginning or end of a transportation serviceis entered. Further, the dynamic transportation network may determine atransportation provider rating based at least in part on the time and/orlocation difference.

In some examples, the dynamic transportation network may estimate thelocation of a transportation requestor based on a Global PositioningSystem sensor and/or a choosing a location on a map application runningon a computing device. The dynamic transportation network may then infera more accurate pickup/drop-off location based on popularpickup/drop-off locations nearby. The more popular pickup/drop-offlocations may be determined by the record of door closing eventlocations stored in a database. Additionally or alternatively, thedynamic transportation network may recommend a different pickup/drop-offlocation nearby that is more convenient and/or appropriate for thetransportation requestor and/or the transportation provider.

In some examples, a specific street address may be provided for alocation that covers a large geographic area (e.g., a shopping mall, anoffice complex, an event stadium, etc.). The street address may be aninconvenient and/or inappropriate pick/drop-off location. The dynamictransportation network may adjust the pickup/drop-off location to anearby location that is more convenient and/or appropriate for thetransportation requestor and/or the transportation provider. Theadjusted pickup/drop-off locations may be based on the record of doorclosing event locations stored in a database. In some examples, theadjusted pickup/drop-off locations may be further based on feedbackprovided by transportation requestors that have previously been pickedup or dropped off at the specific street address. The feedback from thetransportation providers may indicate the level of convenienceassociated with the adjusted location. Creating a database of locationsof door closing events determined using sensor data obtained fromtransportation provider computing devices may enable more accurate,reliable and convenient pickup and drop off locations for transportationrequestors.

In some examples, the dynamic transportation network may identifydiscrepancies between a pickup and/or drop-off location requested by atransportation requestor and the actual location of the pickup and/ordrop-off location. The pickup and/or drop-off location requested by atransportation requestor may be determined by the transportationrequestor entering a location (e.g., address) of the pickup and/ordrop-off location in an application of the transportation requestor'sdevice, the location determined by a location determining system (e.g.,GPS) in the transportation requestor's device, or a combination thereof.The actual location of the pickup and/or drop-off location may bedetermined by the location of a door closing event, the entry of apickup/drop-off in the transportation provider's computing device, or acombination thereof. In some examples, the transportation requestor mayprovide feedback (e.g., through the transportation requestor's computingdevice) to the dynamic transportation network regarding the actualpickup/drop-off location. The transportation requestor's feedback mayindicate that the actual pickup/drop-off location was not thetransportation requestor's desired location. The dynamic transportationnetwork may provide instructions to the transportation provider toassist the transportation provider in picking up/dropping off thetransportation requestor at a location that is more desirable to thetransportation requestor. In some examples there may be a consistentmismatch between the actual pickup/drop-off location and the requestedpickup/drop-off location that may indicate the requested pickup/drop-offlocation is not an appropriate or convenient location. When there is aconsistent mismatch, the dynamic transportation network may mark thelocation as inappropriate for pickup/drop-off and route transportationrequestors to an alternate nearby location. The dynamic transportationnetwork may obtain information regarding the inappropriatepickup/drop-off location through automated data collection (e.g., imagesensors on vehicles or computing devices) and/or through investigativemethods. The dynamic transportation network may update map data based onthe collected data or investigation results.

In some examples, the transportation requestor may provide feedback(e.g., through the transportation requestor's computing device) to thedynamic transportation network that the actual pickup/drop-off locationwas a convenient and/or appropriate pickup/drop-off location. Thedynamic transportation network may update map data based on thetransportation requestor's feedback indicating that the actualpickup/drop-off location is an appropriate replacement for theoriginally requested pickup/drop-off location.

In some examples, the dynamic transportation network may assign alocation score (e.g., number value) to the transportation requestorbased on the transportation requestor's ability to pick and/or drop offtransportation requestors at a convenient location. A high locationscore may indicate a strong ability for the transportation provider topick and/or drop off transportation requestors at a convenient location.The dynamic transportation network may match a transportation providerwith a transportation requestor based on the transportation provider'slocation score. For example, if a transportation requestor providesfeedback that having a convenient and/or accurate pickup location is ofhigh importance, the dynamic transportation network may match thetransportation requestor with a transportation provider having a highlocation score. As another example, certain locations may be difficultto conveniently pickup/drop-off transportation requestors, howevercertain transportation requestors may have a record of consistentlypicking up/dropping off transportation requestors at that location. Thedynamic transportation network may match a transportation requestor thathas requested a pickup/drop-off at that location with a transportationprovider having a record of consistently picking up/dropping offtransportation requestors at that location.

FIG. 5 is an illustration a computing device mounted on the dashboard ofa vehicle. FIG. 5 shows the interior dashboard area of vehicle 502 withcomputing device 504 securely mounted on dashboard 506. In someexamples, the computing device may be a computing device of atransportation provider (e.g., smartphone) and the vehicle may be atransportation provider vehicle that provides transportation services.Computing device 504 may be a message display device that displaysmessages on a screen. Computing device 504 may display messages totransportation requestors traveling in vehicle 502. The messagesdisplayed on computing device 504 may provide information associatedwith a current transportation service. The displayed information mayinclude door usage guidance to transportation requestor(s) that guidesthe transportation requestor(s) as to which door the transportationrequestor(s) should use when entering or exiting vehicle 502. Forexample, a transportation provider may stop vehicle 502 on the rightside of road and message “Exit Right Side” may be displayed on computingdevice 504 to guide the transportation requestor to exit the vehicle onthe right side. A dynamic transportation network may detect door closingevents based on sensor data (e.g., gyroscope sensor data), store ahistorical record of the door closing events, and determinetransportation provider routing decisions based on the record of thedoor closing events. In some examples, the routing decisions may includeproviding guidance to a transportation requestor on computing device 504as to which door the transportation requestor should enter or exit thevehicle. The routing decisions may also include controlling lockingmechanisms on the vehicle doors. For example, vehicle 502 may lock theleft door of the vehicle, unlock the right door, and display message“Exit Right Side” on computing device 504 to guide the transportationrequestor to exit the vehicle on the right side.

Additionally or alternatively, computing device 504 may include aprocessor (e.g., processor 720 of FIG. 7) and a gyroscope sensor. Theprocessor may receive sensor data from the gyroscope. The gyroscope maymeasure angular velocity and acceleration in multiple directions (e.g.,3 dimensional). When computing device 504 is securely mounted todashboard 506 within vehicle 502, the gyroscope may subject to vehiclemovements and may therefore measure the pitch, roll, and yaw of vehicle502. For example, the gyroscope may measure the pitch, roll, and yaw ofcomputing device 504 corresponding to axes X, Y, and Z, respectively, ofvehicle 502. In some examples, a door closing on vehicle 502 may causean impact acceleration to the vehicle. The impulse momentum imparted onthe vehicle may be transmitted to computing device 504 securely mountedto dashboard 506. The gyroscope may measure the impulse momentum andproduce sensor data associated with the impulse. As will be described indetail with respect to FIGS. 7 and 8, sensor data from the gyroscope mayindicate a change in the pitch, roll, and yaw of vehicle 502 caused bythe closing door. In some examples, the roll axis of vehicle 502 mayexperience the highest change in rotational velocity as compared to thepitch axis (e.g., X axis) and the yaw axis (e.g., Z axis). The processormay determine an event signature from the gyroscope sensor data anddetect that the event signature indicates a door closing event hasoccurred.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of an example method of providing door usageguidance to a transportation requestor device. A dynamic transportationnetwork may provide information to a transportation requestor device(e.g., smartphone) related to transportation services. For example,smartphone 602 may display a route on a map associated with atransportation request. The route may be displayed on the map andinclude pickup location 604, travel route 620, and drop-off location606. Further, smartphone 602 may display messages to the transportationrequestor associated with door usage guidance. For example, smartphone602 may display message 608 providing guidance to the transportationrequestor to enter the transportation provider vehicle from the rightside of the vehicle at pickup location 604. As another example,smartphone 602 may display message 610 providing guidance to thetransportation requestor to exit the transportation provider vehiclefrom the left side of the vehicle at drop-off location 606. A dynamictransportation network may detect door closing events based on sensordata, store a historical record of the door closing events, anddetermine transportation provider routing decisions based on the recordof door closing events. In some examples, the routing decisions mayinclude providing guidance on smartphone 602 to a transportationrequestor to enter the transportation provider vehicle from the rightside of the vehicle at pickup location 604 and exit the transportationprovider vehicle from the left side of the vehicle at drop-off location606.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example system for detecting vehicledoor closings. As described above in FIGS. 1-6 a dynamic transportationnetwork may provide transportation provider routing decisions to atransportation provider device based on a historical record of doorclosing events. As shown in FIG. 7, system 700 is an example system fordetecting vehicle door closings. Vehicle door closings may be detectedusing any suitable method and system. System 700 may include processor720 that may receive sensor data from multiple sensors and data sources.Processor 720 may execute instructions stored in storage 718 thatprocesses the sensor data and detects vehicle door closings. Processor720 may be included in a computing device of a transportation providerthat operates the vehicle. In some examples, processor 720 may beincluded in a computing module of the vehicle. Processor 720 may receivesensor data from gyroscope 708. Gyroscope 708 may also be included inthe computing device of the transportation provider operating thevehicle. Gyroscope 708 may measure angular velocity and acceleration inmultiple directions (e.g., 3 dimensional). For example, gyroscope 708may measure the pitch, roll, and yaw of the computing device thatincludes gyroscope 708. When a computing device that includes gyroscope708 is securely mounted within a vehicle, gyroscope 708 may subject tothe vehicle movements and may therefore measure the pitch, roll, and yawof the vehicle in which it is mounted. In some examples, a door closingon a vehicle may cause an impact acceleration to the vehicle. A closingdoor may have a momentum equal to the mass of the door times the doorvelocity as it is closing. When the door is closed, and the velocitygoes to zero, an impulse momentum may be imparted on the vehicle. Theimpulse momentum imparted on the vehicle may be transmitted through thevehicle to the computing device securely mounted in the vehicle.Gyroscope 708 may measure the impulse momentum transmitted to thecomputing device and output sensor data associated with the impulse. Thesensor data from gyroscope 708 may indicate a change in the pitch, roll,and yaw of the vehicle. In some examples, the roll axis (e.g.,longitudinal axis) of the vehicle may experience the highest change inacceleration as compared to the pitch axis (e.g., transverse axis) andthe yaw axis (e.g., vertical axis). Processor 720 may process the sensordata from gyroscope 708 and determine that the sensor data indicates adoor closing event has occurred. Processor 720 may determine theamplitude and frequency components of the sensor data from gyroscope 708using processing techniques including, without limitation, Fast FourierTransform, time domain digital signal processing, linearization,filtering, finite impulse response, or a combination thereof. In someexamples, processor 720 may compare the amplitude and frequencycomponents (e.g., an event signature pattern) of the sensor data fromgyroscope 708 to known gyroscope signature patterns of door closingevents to determine if a door closing event has occurred.

Processor 720 may receive sensor data from accelerometer 710.Accelerometer 710 may also be included in the computing device of thetransportation provider operating the vehicle. Accelerometer 710 maymeasure linear acceleration in multiple directions (e.g., 3dimensional). For example, accelerometer 710 may measure linearacceleration in the longitudinal, transverse, and vertical axis of thevehicle when the computing device is securely attached to the vehicle.Similar to gyroscope 708, accelerometer 710 may be subject to vehiclemovements and may therefore measure linear acceleration of the vehiclein any direction. In some examples, a door closing on a vehicle maycause an impact acceleration to the vehicle. When the door is closed,and the velocity goes to zero, an impulse momentum may be imparted onthe vehicle. The impulse momentum imparted on the vehicle may betransmitted to the computing device securely mounted in the vehicle.Accelerometer 710 may measure the impulse momentum transmitted to thecomputing device and output sensor data associated with the impulse. Thesensor data from accelerometer 710 may indicate a change in the linearacceleration of the vehicle caused by the impulse of the closing door.Processor 720 may process the sensor data from accelerometer 710 anddetermine that the sensor data indicates a door closing event hasoccurred. Processor 720 may determine the amplitude and frequencycomponents of the sensor data from accelerometer 710 using processingtechniques including, without limitation, Fast Fourier Transform, timedomain digital signal processing, linearization, filtering, finiteimpulse response, or a combination thereof. In some examples, processor720 may compare the amplitude and frequency components (e.g., an eventsignature pattern) of the sensor data from accelerometer 710 to knownaccelerometer signature patterns of door closing events to determine ifa door closing event has occurred.

Processor 720 may receive sensor data from microphone 712. Microphone712 may also be included in the computing device of the transportationprovider operating the vehicle. Microphone 712 may sense sound waves inproximity to the computing device. For example, microphone 712 may sensesound waves within the cabin of the vehicle. In some examples, a doorclosing on a vehicle may cause an impact sound wave. The impact soundwave caused by the closing door may be sensed and recorded by microphone712. Processor 720 may process the recorded sound wave from microphone712 and determine that the sound wave indicates a door closing event hasoccurred. Processor 720 may determine the amplitude and frequencycomponents of the recorded sound wave using processing techniquesincluding, without limitation, Fast Fourier Transform, time domaindigital signal processing, linearization, filtering, finite impulseresponse, or a combination thereof. In some examples, processor 720 maycompare the amplitude and frequency components (e.g., a sound wavepattern) of the recorded sound wave to known sound wave patterns of doorclosing events to determine if a door closing event has occurred.

In some examples, a door closing event may be detected by a combinedgyroscope and sound level event signature. When the computing device issecurely attached to the vehicle, the sensor data from gyroscope 708 mayrepresent the angular velocity of the vehicle in multiple directions(e.g., 3 dimensional). The sensor data from microphone 712 may representthe sound pressure level inside the cabin of the vehicle. The computingdevice may simultaneously receive sensor data from the gyroscope andsound pressure levels from the microphone.

When a door of the vehicle is closed, the vehicle may experience animpact. Each of the door closing events may produce gyroscope and soundlevel data that corresponds to the door closing event. In some examples,the gyroscope and microphone may record a unique event signature thatcorresponds the door closing events. For example, during a door closingevent, the sound level data may show an initial increase in amplitude(e.g., impulse) when the door closes and a dampened level from echoes inthe vehicle cabin while the y axis of the gyroscope may show an initialincrease in amplitude in the negative rotational direction. A combined(e.g., gyroscope and sound pressure level) event signature may increasethe accuracy of detecting car door closing events. By correlating agyroscope event signature with a sound level event signature falsepositive and/or false negative door closing detection may be reduced.For example, if a vehicle receives an impact not due to a door closing(e.g. from an external object/person impacting the vehicle or from apassing truck creating an air pressure wave) an event signature from agyroscope alone may falsely indicate a door closing event. A vehicleimpact not due to a door closing event may generate a sound levelsignature distinguishable from a door closing sound level signaturewhile the gyroscope data signature may not be able to distinguishbetween the door closing event and an impact due to another source. Bycorrelating the gyroscope and sound level signatures a more robust (e.g.reducing false positive detection and/or false negative detection) eventsignature detection method is created. Correlating the gyroscope andsound level signatures may use any suitable method. For example,correlation methods may include time synchronization (e.g., temporalcorrelation) of peaks detected by the gyroscope and microphone and aweighting applied to each of the gyroscope and sound level signatures.In some examples, a machine learning model may be applied to the eventsignature methods independently or in a combined manner. The machinelearning model may be developed by providing training sets of knowngyroscope and/or sound level data associated with door closing events tothe model.

Processor 720 may receive sensor data from barometer 714. Barometer 714may also be included in the computing device of the transportationprovider operating the vehicle. Barometer 714 may sense ambient airpressure in proximity to the computing device. For example, barometer714 may sense ambient air pressure within the cabin of the vehicle. Insome examples, a door closing on a vehicle may cause a change (e.g.,sudden increase) in the relative air pressure within the cabin of thevehicle. The change in relative air pressure within the cabin of thevehicle caused by the closing door may be sensed and recorded bybarometer 714. Processor 720 may receive and process sensor dataincluding the change in relative air pressure from barometer 714 anddetermine that the change in relative air pressure indicates a doorclosing event has occurred. Processor 720 may determine the amplitudeand frequency components of the recorded change in relative air pressureusing processing techniques including, without limitation, Fast FourierTransform, time domain digital signal processing, linearization,filtering, finite impulse response, or a combination thereof. In someexamples, processor 720 may compare the amplitude and frequencycomponents (e.g., air pressure wave pattern) of the recorded airpressure to known air pressure wave patterns of door closing events todetermine if a door closing event has occurred.

Processor 720 may receive sensor data from presence sensor 716. Presencesensor 716 may also be included in the computing device of thetransportation provider operating the vehicle. When the computing deviceis mounted in the vehicle, presence sensor 716 may sense the presence,absence, status, and/or position of objects within the vehicle. Presencesensor 716 may use sensing technologies including, without limitation,image processing, radar ranging, laser ranging, radio frequencyidentification, or a combination thereof. Processor 720 may receive andprocess sensor data from presence sensor 716 and determine that thesensor data indicates a door closing event has occurred. In someexamples, processor 720 may process sensor data from presence sensor 716and determine, without limitation, a number of transportation requestorswithin the vehicle, an activity of a transportation requestor, apresence, absence or position of a transportation provider, an activityof a transportation provider, a door position, a window position, a seatposition, or a combination thereof.

In some examples, processor 720 may receive sensor data related to doorclosing events from sensors located outside of a computing device of thetransportation provider. For example, processor 720 may receive sensordata from a computing device of a passenger or a transportationrequestor. Sensor data from a computing device of a passenger or atransportation requestor may be transmitted to processor 720. Processor720 may also receive sensor data from sensors within the vehicle. Thevehicle may include inertial measurement unit 702 that may sense andrecord rotational velocity and linear acceleration similar to gyroscope708 and accelerometer 710 described above. For example, inertialmeasurement unit 702 may measure the pitch, roll, and yaw of thevehicle. In some examples, a door closing on the vehicle may cause animpulse momentum to be imparted on the vehicle. The impulse momentum dueto the door closing may be recorded by inertial measurement unit 702.Inertial measurement unit 702 may also include an accelerometer thatmeasures acceleration in the longitudinal, transverse, and vertical axisof the vehicle. Similar to the gyroscope in inertial measurement unit702, the accelerometer may sense linear acceleration of the vehiclecaused by a door closing event. Sensor data from the gyroscope and/oraccelerometer in inertial measurement unit 702 may be provided tovehicle control module 706. Vehicle control module 706 may pass thesensor data to processor 720 and/or vehicle control module 706 maypreprocess (e.g., condition) the sensor data before passing the sensordata to processor 720. Processor 720 may process the sensor data frominertial measurement unit 702 and determine that the sensor dataindicates a door closing event has occurred. Processor 720 may determinethe amplitude and frequency components of the sensor data from inertialmeasurement unit 702 using processing techniques including, withoutlimitation, Fast Fourier Analysis, time domain digital signalprocessing, linearization, filtering, finite impulse response, or acombination thereof. In some examples, processor 720 may compare theamplitude and frequency components (e.g., an event signature pattern) ofthe sensor data from inertial measurement unit 702 to known signaturepatterns of door closing events to determine if a door closing event hasoccurred.

In some examples, processor 720 may receive sensor data related to doorclosing events from door sensors located on the vehicle. For example,each door on the vehicle (e.g., front right door, front left door, rearright door, rear left door, rear door, hood, trunk, etc.) may have asensor that indicates an open or closed status of the door. The vehiclemay include door sensors 704(1) to 704(n). Door sensors 704(1) to 704(n)may each sense an individual door status on the vehicle. Each of doorsensors 704(1) to 704(n) may send a door status to vehicle controlmodule 706. Vehicle control module 706 may further send the door statusto processor 720. Processor 720 may determine door closing events basedon the status of door sensors 704(1) to 704(n). In one example, doorsensor 704(1) may sense the door status of the right rear door of thevehicle and door sensor 704(2) may sense the door status of the leftrear door of the vehicle. Processor 720 may determine that atransportation requestor has entered or exited the vehicle based onreceiving a door open status from door sensor 704(1) or 704(2) and aperiod of time later receiving a door closed status from door sensor704(1) or 704(2). Further, processor 720 may determine the number oftransportation requestors that have entered or exited the vehicle basedon the time period between the door open status and the door closedstatus. Processor 720 may receive timing information from timing unit722. Timing unit 722 (e.g., crystal oscillator) may provide processor720 with a timing base to determine the time period between the dooropen status and the door closed status. Further, timing unit 722 mayprovide processor 720 with a time of day and date. Processor 720 maycreate record of door opening and closing events and include the time ofday and date associated with the door events. Processor 720 may receivelocation information associated with the door closing events from globalpositioning unit 727. Processor 720 may store the record of door closingevents including the location, time of day, and date in storage 718.Further, the record of door closing events including the location, timeof day, and date may be uploaded through network 728 to a server foraccess by transportation management system 730.

In some examples, processor 720 may control access to the vehicle.Processor 720 may control access to the vehicle by controlling thelocking and unlocking of the vehicle doors (e.g., front right door,front left door, rear right door, rear left door, rear door, hood,trunk, etc.). Processor 720 may control the locking and unlocking of thevehicle doors by sending a control signal to vehicle control module 706.Vehicle control module 706 may send a signal (e.g., control message overa vehicle communications bus or a discrete signal) to door locks 724(1)to 724(n) to lock or unlock the doors. Processor 720 may lock or unlockvehicle doors in order to control which side of the vehicle a passenger(e.g., transportation requestor) is allowed to enter or exit. Forexample, a transportation provider may provide transportation servicesto a transportation requestor and stop the vehicle on the right side ofa road to drop off the transportation requestor. The transportationprovider may stop the vehicle alongside a curb or sidewalk on the rightside of the vehicle. Processor 720 may lock a door on the left side ofthe vehicle and unlock a door on the right side of the vehicle, so thetransportation requestor may exit the vehicle next to the curb orsidewalk.

In some examples, processor 720 may communicate with vehicle controlmodule 706 to receive sensor data and/or control door locks over avehicle interface bus. Processor 720 may communicate with vehiclecontrol module 706 over a wired communications interface conforming tothe On-Board Diagnostics (OBDII) standard. In some examples, processor720 may communicate with vehicle control module 706 and/or othercomputing devices within the vehicle over a wireless communicationsinterface (e.g., Bluetooth™, WiFi, cellular, Near Field Communication,etc.).

Although the above described embodiments disclose methods of detectingdoor closing events using individual types of sensors, the presentdisclosure is not limited to such and the methods include using acombination of sensor data from various types of sensors to detect doorclosing events. Embodiments of the present disclosure include detectingdoor closing events based on sensor data from, without limitation, agyroscope, an accelerometer, a microphone, a barometer, a presencesensor, a vehicle IMU, a vehicle door sensor, or a combination thereof.

Additionally or alternatively, processor 720 may receive sensor datafrom any or all of the sensors described above and transmit the sensordata to transportation management system 730. Transportation managementsystem 730 may be transportation management system 902 described indetail below with respect to FIG. 9. Transportation management system730 may receive the sensor data transmitted from processor 720 throughnetwork 728. Network 728 may be network 910 or network 920 of FIG. 9.Transportation management system 730 may receive the sensor data anddetermine an event signature based on the sensor data. Further,transportation management system 730 may detect a door closing eventassociated with the vehicle based on the event signature. Transportationmanagement system 730 may store a record of data associated with doorclosing events detected by processor 720 and a record of data associatedwith door closing events detected in other transportation providervehicles.

In some examples, transportation management system 730 may determinevehicle routing decisions based on the record of door closing events andlocations associated with the door closing events. Transportationmanagement system 730 may transmit the vehicle routing decisions toprocessor 720 through network 728. The vehicle routing decisions may beprovided to a transportation provider through a transportation providerdevice and/or dashboard computing device 725.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of example modules for determiningtransportation provider routing decisions based on data associated withvehicle door closings. The modules of FIG. 8 may receive door closingevent data, determine transportation provider routing decisions based onthe door closing event data, and provide the routing decisions to atransportation provider device. Transportation management system 810 mayinclude routing decision module 830. In some examples, transportationmanagement system 810 may be transportation management system 1102 ofFIG. 11. Door usage record 820 may store data associated with doorclosing events from multiple transportation provider devices and mayinclude the location of the vehicles at the time of the door closings,the day and time of the door closings, a number of passengers enteringthe vehicle through the door, etc. Routing decision module 830 mayreceive data associated with door closing events from door usage record820. Routing decision module 830 may determine routing decisionsincluding transportation requestor pickup locations, transportationrequestor drop-off locations, and transportation requestor door usageguidance. The routing decisions from routing decision module 830 may beprovided to interface module 860 for transmission to, withoutlimitation, transportation provider devices, dashboard mounted computingdevices, vehicle control modules, transportation requestor devices, or acombination thereof. The routing decisions from routing decision module830 may be based on the location scores of pickup and drop-offlocations. For example, routing decision module 830 may determine atravel route for a transportation provider such that a transportationrequestor is picked up or dropped off at a location that has a higherlocation score (e.g., curbside or a designated pickup/drop-offlocation).

Routing decision module 830 may determine and store transportationprovider location scores in transportation provider location score 840.As described above with respect to FIG. 4, a dynamic transportationnetwork may calculate a time difference between a time of a door closingevent and a time of a signal associated with the beginning or end of atransportation service. Routing decision module 830 may calculate adifference between a location of a door closing event and a location ofa transportation provider device when a signal associated with thebeginning or end of a transportation service is entered. Routingdecision module 830 may determine a transportation provider locationscore based at least in part on the time and/or location difference andstore the transportation provider location scores in transportationprovider location score 840.

Additionally or alternatively, a transportation provider location scoremay be based on door closing event data and the location scores ofpickup and drop-off locations associated with the transportationprovider. For example, a transportation provider that frequently picksup or drops off transportation providers at locations with lowerlocation scores may have a lower transportation provider location scorethan a transportation provider that consistently picks up or drops offtransportation providers at locations with higher location scores.

In some examples, a dynamic transportation network may matchtransportation requests to transportation providers based on thetransportation provider location scores. For example, a dynamictransportation network may receive a transportation request for whichthere are multiple available transportation providers to fulfill therequest. The dynamic transportation network may match the request with atransportation provider based on the location scores of the availableproviders (e.g., the dynamic transportation network may match therequest with the transportation provider having the location score overa threshold).

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of an example method for providing atransportation provider routing decision to a transportation providerdevice based on a historical record of vehicle door closing events. Asshown in FIG. 9, the method may include, at step 910, identifying atransportation task within a dynamic transportation network. At step920, the method may include accessing a database of door closing eventlocations, wherein the database is populated from observed door closingevents within the dynamic transportation network. At step 930, themethod may include determining location information specifying at leastone of a pickup location and a drop-off location for the transportationtask based at least in part on the database of door closing eventlocations. At step 940, the method may include providing the locationinformation to a transportation provider computing device, wherein atransportation provider performs the transportation task that comprisesat least one of picking up a transportation requestor at the pickuplocation, and dropping off the transportation requestor at the drop-offlocation.

In one example, a computer-implemented method for providingtransportation provider routing decisions to a transportation providerdevice based on a historical record of vehicle door closing events mayinclude identifying a transportation task within a dynamictransportation network. In some examples, the method may further includeaccessing a database of door closing event locations. In some examples,the method may further include determining location informationspecifying at least one of a pickup location and a drop-off location forthe transportation task based at least in part on the database of doorclosing event locations. In some examples, the method may furtherinclude providing the location information to a transportation providercomputing device, wherein a transportation provider performs thetransportation task that comprises at least one of picking up atransportation requestor at the pickup location, and dropping off thetransportation requestor at the drop-off location.

In some examples, the method may further include retrieving, from thedatabase of door closing event locations, a time of a door closing eventat a location, determining the location information for at least one ofthe pickup location and the drop-off location based on retrieving, fromthe database of door closing event locations, the time of the doorclosing event at the location.

In some examples, the method may further include retrieving, from thedatabase of door closing events, historical event data at the drop-offlocation and determining whether a driver side door exit or a passengerside door exit is more convenient for a transportation requestor exitinga transportation provider vehicle based on the database of door closingevents.

In some examples, the method may further determining whether a number ofdriver side door closing events occurring at a location is greater thana threshold and in response to the number of driver side door closingevents occurring at the location being greater than a threshold,performing at least one of instructing the transportation provider toremind the transportation requestor to exit a transportation providervehicle through a passenger side door, instructing the transportationprovider to travel to a location at which the transportation requestormay exit the transportation provider vehicle through the passenger sidedoor, instructing the transportation provider to query thetransportation requestor as to which side of a street the transportationrequestor prefers to exit the transportation provider vehicle, andinstructing the transportation requestor as to which door of thetransportation provider vehicle to exit.

In some examples, the method may further include unlocking at least onedoor locking mechanism on a side of a transportation provider vehicle atthe at least one of the pickup location and the drop-off location,wherein the side of the transportation provider vehicle that is unlockedis based at least in part on the database of door closing eventlocations.

In some examples, the method may further include receiving a time stampassociated with an end transportation signal or a begin transportationsignal from the transportation provider computing device, receiving atime stamp associated with a door closing event on a transportationprovider vehicle, calculating a time difference between the time stampassociated with the end transportation signal or the begintransportation signal and the time stamp associated with the doorclosing event.

In some examples, the observed door closing events may be based onsensor data and the sensor data is received from at least one of anaccelerometer, a gyroscope, a barometer, and a magnetometer within thetransportation provider computing device.

In some examples, the method may further include identifying popularpickup locations and drop-off locations based at least in part on thedatabase of door closing event locations and providing a recommendationof at least one of the popular pickup locations and drop-off locationsto the transportation provider device.

In some examples, the method may further include assigning a conveniencescore to the transportation provider based on a level of convenienceprovided to the transportation requestor in performing thetransportation task and matching the transportation provider to anothertransportation requestor in response to the convenience score exceedinga threshold.

In some examples, the method may further include receiving feedback fromthe transportation requestor associated with a level of convenience ofthe at least one of the pickup location and the drop-off location andupdating map data based on the feedback.

In some examples, the method may further include identifying adiscrepancy between at least one of a planned pickup location and anactual pickup location, and a planned drop-off location and an actualdrop-off location.

In one example, a system may comprise one or more physical processorsand one or more memories coupled to one or more of the physicalprocessors, the one or more memories comprising instructions operablewhen executed by the one or more physical processors may cause thesystem to perform operations including accessing a database of doorclosing event locations. In some examples, the operations may furtherinclude determining location information specifying at least one of apickup location and a drop-off location for the transportation taskbased at least in part on the database of door closing event locations.In some examples, the operations may further include providing thelocation information to a transportation provider computing device,wherein a transportation provider performs the transportation task thatcomprises at least one of picking up a transportation requestor at thepickup location, and dropping off the transportation requestor at thedrop-off location.

In some examples, the operations may further include retrieving, fromthe database of door closing event locations, a time of a door closingevent at a location, determining the location information for at leastone of the pickup location and the drop-off location based onretrieving, from the database of door closing event locations, the timeof the door closing event at the location.

In some examples, the operations may further include retrieving, fromthe database of door closing events, historical event data at thedrop-off location and determining whether a driver side door exit or apassenger side door exit is more convenient for a transportationrequestor exiting a transportation provider vehicle based on thedatabase of door closing events.

In some examples, the operations may further determining whether anumber of driver side door closing events occurring at a location isgreater than a threshold and in response to the number of driver sidedoor closing events occurring at the location being greater than athreshold, performing at least one of instructing the transportationprovider to remind the transportation requestor to exit a transportationprovider vehicle through a passenger side door, instructing thetransportation provider to travel to a location at which thetransportation requestor may exit the transportation provider vehiclethrough the passenger side door, instructing the transportation providerto query the transportation requestor as to which side of a street thetransportation requestor prefers to exit the transportation providervehicle, and instructing the transportation requestor as to which doorof the transportation provider vehicle to exit.

In some examples, the operations may further include unlocking at leastone door locking mechanism on a side of a transportation providervehicle at the at least one of the pickup location and the drop-offlocation, wherein the side of the transportation provider vehicle thatis unlocked is based at least in part on the database of door closingevent locations.

In some examples, the operations may further include receiving a timestamp associated with an end transportation signal or a begintransportation signal from the transportation provider computing device,receiving a time stamp associated with a door closing event on atransportation provider vehicle, calculating a time difference betweenthe time stamp associated with the end transportation signal or thebegin transportation signal and the time stamp associated with the doorclosing event.

In some examples, the observed door closing events may be based onsensor data and the sensor data is received from at least one of anaccelerometer, a gyroscope, a barometer, and a magnetometer within thetransportation provider computing device.

In some examples, the operations may further include identifying popularpickup locations and drop-off locations based at least in part on thedatabase of door closing event locations and providing a recommendationof at least one of the popular pickup locations and drop-off locationsto the transportation provider device.

In some examples, the operations may further include assigning aconvenience score to the transportation provider based on a level ofconvenience provided to the transportation requestor in performing thetransportation task and matching the transportation provider to anothertransportation requestor in response to the convenience score exceedinga threshold.

In some examples, the operations may further include receiving feedbackfrom the transportation requestor associated with a level of convenienceof the at least one of the pickup location and the drop-off location andupdating map data based on the feedback.

In some examples, the operations may further include identifying adiscrepancy between at least one of a planned pickup location and anactual pickup location, and a planned drop-off location and an actualdrop-off location.

In one example, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium mayinclude computer-readable instructions that, when executed by at leastone processor of a computing device, cause the computing device toidentify a transportation task within a dynamic transportation network,access a database of door closing event locations, wherein the databaseis populated from observed door closing events within the dynamictransportation network, determine location information specifying atleast one of a pickup location and a drop-off location for thetransportation task based at least in part on the database of doorclosing event locations, and provide the location information to atransportation provider computing device, wherein a transportationprovider performs the transportation task that comprises at least one ofpicking up a transportation requestor at the pickup location anddropping off the transportation requestor at the drop-off location.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example system 1000 for matching transportationrequests with a dynamic transportation network that includes personalmobility vehicles. As shown in FIG. 10, a dynamic transportationmatching system 1010 may be configured with one or more dynamictransportation matching modules 1012 that may perform one or more of thesteps described herein. Dynamic transportation matching system 1010 mayrepresent any computing system and/or set of computing systems capableof matching transportation requests. Dynamic transportation matchingsystem 1010 may be in communication with computing devices in each of agroup of vehicles 1020. Vehicles 1020 may represent any vehicles thatmay fulfill transportation requests. In some examples, vehicles 1020 mayinclude disparate vehicle types and/or models. For example, vehicles1020 may include road-going vehicles and personal mobility vehicles. Insome examples, some of vehicles 1020 may be standard commerciallyavailable vehicles. According to some examples, some of vehicles 1020may be owned by separate individuals (e.g., transportation providers).Furthermore, while, in some examples, many or all of vehicles 1020 maybe human-operated, in some examples many of vehicles 1020 may also beautonomous (or partly autonomous). Accordingly, throughout the instantdisclosure, references to a “transportation provider” (or “provider”)may, where appropriate, refer to an operator of a human driven vehicle,an autonomous vehicle control system, an autonomous vehicle, an owner ofan autonomous vehicle, an operator of an autonomous vehicle, anattendant of an autonomous vehicle, a vehicle piloted by a requestor,and/or an autonomous system for piloting a vehicle. While FIG. 10 doesnot specify the number of vehicles 1020, it may be readily appreciatedthat the systems described herein are applicable to hundreds ofvehicles, thousands of vehicles, or more. In one example, dynamictransportation matching system 1010 may coordinate transportationmatchings within a single region for 50,000 vehicles or more on a givenday. In some examples, vehicles 1020 may collectively form a dynamictransportation network that may provide transportation supply on anon-demand basis to transportation requestors.

As mentioned above, dynamic transportation matching system 1010 maycommunicate with computing devices in each of vehicles 1020. Thecomputing devices may be any suitable type of computing device. In someexamples, one or more of the computing devices may be integrated intothe respective vehicles 1020. In some examples, one or more of thecomputing devices may be mobile devices. For example, one or more of thecomputing devices may be smartphones. Additionally or alternatively, oneor more of the computing devices may be tablet computers, personaldigital assistants, or any other type or form of mobile computingdevice. According to some examples, one or more of the computing devicesmay include wearable computing devices (e.g., a driver-wearablecomputing device), such as smart glasses, smart watches, etc. In someexamples, one or more of the computing devices may be devices suitablefor temporarily mounting in a vehicle (e.g., for use by a requestorand/or provider for a transportation matching application, a navigationapplication, and/or any other application suited for the use ofrequestors and/or providers). Additionally or alternatively, one or moreof the computing devices may be devices suitable for installing in avehicle and/or may be a vehicle's computer that has a transportationmanagement system application installed on the computer in order toprovide transportation services to transportation requestors and/orcommunicate with dynamic transportation matching system 1010.

As shown in FIG. 10, vehicles 1020 may include provider devices1030(1)-(n) (e.g., whether integrated into the vehicle, permanentlyaffixed to the vehicle, temporarily affixed to the vehicle, worn by adriver of the vehicle, etc.). In some examples, provider devices 1030may include a provider apps 1040(1)-(k). Provider apps 1040(1)-(k) mayrepresent any application, program, and/or module that may provide oneor more services related to operating a vehicle and/or providingtransportation matching services. For example, provider apps 1040(1)-(k)may include a transportation matching application for providers and/orone or more applications for matching personal mobility vehicles (PMVs)with requestor devices. In some embodiments, different types of providervehicles may be provisioned with different types of provider devicesand/or different provider applications. For example, PMVs may beprovisioned with provider devices that are configured with a providerapplication that enables transportation requestors to reserve and/oroperate the PMV while road-constrained vehicles (e.g., cars) may beprovisioned with provider devices that are configured with a providerapplication that enables provider vehicle operators (e.g.,transportation providers) to respond to requests from transportationrequestors. In some examples, provider applications 1040(1)-(k) maymatch the user of provider apps 1040(1)-(k) (e.g., a transportationprovider) with transportation requestors through communication withdynamic transportation matching system 1010. In addition, and as isdescribed in greater detail below, provider apps 1040(1)-(k) may providedynamic transportation management system 1010 with information about aprovider (including, e.g., the current location of the provider and/orvehicle) to enable dynamic transportation management system 1010 toprovide dynamic transportation matching and/or management services forthe provider and one or more requestors. In some examples, provider apps1040(1)-(k) may coordinate communications and/or a payment between arequestor and a provider. According to some embodiments, provider apps1040(1)-(k) may provide a map service, a navigation service, a trafficnotification service, and/or a geolocation service.

Additionally, as shown in FIG. 10, dynamic transportation matchingsystem 1010 may communicate with requestor devices 1050(1)-(m). In someexamples, requestor devices 1050 may include a requestor app 1060.Requestor app 1060 may represent any application, program, and/or modulethat may provide one or more services related to requestingtransportation matching services. For example, requestor app 1060 mayinclude a transportation matching application for requestors. In someexamples, requestor app 1060 may match the user of requestor app 1060(e.g., a transportation requestor) with transportation providers throughcommunication with dynamic transportation matching system 1010. Inaddition, and as is described in greater detail below, requestor app1060 may provide dynamic transportation management system 1010 withinformation about a requestor (including, e.g., the current location ofthe requestor) to enable dynamic transportation management system 1010to provide dynamic transportation matching services for the requestorand one or more providers. In some examples, requestor app 1060 maycoordinate communications and/or a payment between a requestor and aprovider. According to some embodiments, requestor app 1060 may providea map service, a navigation service, a traffic notification service,and/or a geolocation service.

Embodiments of the instant disclosure may include or be implemented inconjunction with a dynamic transportation matching system. Atransportation matching system may arrange transportation on anon-demand and/or ad-hoc basis by, e.g., matching one or moretransportation requestors with one or more transportation providers. Forexample, a transportation matching system may provide one or moretransportation matching services for a networked transportation service,a ridesourcing service, a taxicab service, a car-booking service, anautonomous vehicle service, a personal mobility vehicle service, or somecombination and/or derivative thereof. The transportation matchingsystem may include and/or interface with any of a variety of subsystemsthat may implement, support, and/or improve a transportation matchingservice. For example, the transportation matching system may include amatching system (e.g., that matches requestors to ride opportunitiesand/or that arranges for requestors and/or providers to meet), a mappingsystem, a navigation system (e.g., to help a provider reach a requestor,to help a requestor reach a provider, and/or to help a provider reach adestination), a reputation system (e.g., to rate and/or gauge thetrustworthiness of a requestor and/or a provider), a payment system,and/or an autonomous or semi-autonomous driving system. Thetransportation matching system may be implemented on various platforms,including a requestor-owned mobile device, a computing system installedin a vehicle, a requestor-owned mobile device, a server computer system,or any other hardware platform capable of providing transportationmatching services to one or more requestors and/or providers.

While various examples provided herein relate to transportation,embodiments of the instant disclosure may include or be implemented inconjunction with a dynamic matching system applied to one or moreservices instead of and/or in addition to transportation services. Forexample, embodiments described herein may be used to match serviceproviders with service requestors for any service.

FIG. 11 shows a transportation management environment 1100, inaccordance with various embodiments. As shown in FIG. 11, atransportation management system 1102 may run one or more servicesand/or software applications, including identity management services1104, location services 1106, ride services 1108, and/or other services.Although FIG. 11 shows a certain number of services provided bytransportation management system 1102, more or fewer services may beprovided in various implementations. In addition, although FIG. 11 showsthese services as being provided by transportation management system1102, all or a portion of any of the services may be processed in adistributed fashion. For example, computations associated with a servicetask may be performed by a combination of transportation managementsystem 1102 (including any number of servers, databases, etc.), one ormore devices associated with a provider (e.g., devices integrated withmanaged vehicles 1114(a), 1114(b), and/or 1114(c); provider computingdevices 1116 and tablets 1120; and transportation management vehicledevices 1118), and/or more or more devices associated with a riderequestor (e.g., the requestor's computing devices 1124 and tablets1122). In some embodiments, transportation management system 1102 mayinclude one or more general purpose computers, server computers,clustered computing systems, cloud-based computing systems, and/or anyother computing systems or arrangements of computing systems.Transportation management system 1102 may be configured to run any orall of the services and/or software components described herein. In someembodiments, the transportation management system 1102 may include anappropriate operating system and/or various server applications, such asweb servers capable of handling hypertext transport protocol (HTTP)requests, file transfer protocol (FTP) servers, database servers, etc.

In some embodiments, identity management services 1104 may be configuredto perform authorization services for requestors and providers and/ormanage their interactions and/or data with transportation managementsystem 1102. This may include, e.g., authenticating the identity ofproviders and determining that they are authorized to provide servicesthrough transportation management system 1102. Similarly, requestors'identities may be authenticated to determine whether they are authorizedto receive the requested services through transportation managementsystem 1102. Identity management services 1104 may also manage and/orcontrol access to provider and/or requestor data maintained bytransportation management system 1102, such as driving and/or ridehistories, vehicle data, personal data, preferences, usage patterns as aride provider and/or as a ride requestor, profile pictures, linkedthird-party accounts (e.g., credentials for music and/or entertainmentservices, social-networking systems, calendar systems, task-managementsystems, etc.) and any other associated information. Transportationmanagement system 1102 may also manage and/or control access to providerand/or requestor data stored with and/or obtained from third-partysystems. For example, a requester or provider may grant transportationmanagement system 1102 access to a third-party email, calendar, or taskmanagement system (e.g., via the user's credentials). As anotherexample, a requestor or provider may grant, through a mobile device(e.g., 1116, 1120, 1122, or 1124), a transportation applicationassociated with transportation management system 1102 access to dataprovided by other applications installed on the mobile device. In someexamples, such data may be processed on the client and/or uploaded totransportation management system 1102 for processing.

In some embodiments, transportation management system 1102 may provideride services 1108, which may include ride matching and/or managementservices to connect a requestor to a provider. For example, afteridentity management services module 1104 has authenticated the identitya ride requestor, ride services module 1108 may attempt to match therequestor with one or more ride providers. In some embodiments, rideservices module 1108 may identify an appropriate provider using locationdata obtained from location services module 1106. Ride services module1108 may use the location data to identify providers who aregeographically close to the requestor (e.g., within a certain thresholddistance or travel time) and/or who are otherwise a good match with therequestor. Ride services module 1108 may implement matching algorithmsthat score providers based on, e.g., preferences of providers andrequestors; vehicle features, amenities, condition, and/or status;providers' preferred general travel direction and/or route, range oftravel, and/or availability; requestors' origination and destinationlocations, time constraints, and/or vehicle feature needs; and any otherpertinent information for matching requestors with providers. In someembodiments, ride services module 1108 may use rule-based algorithmsand/or machine-learning models for matching requestors and providers.

Transportation management system 1102 may communicatively connect tovarious devices through networks 1110 and/or 1112. Networks 1110 and1112 may include any combination of interconnected networks configuredto send and/or receive data communications using various communicationprotocols and transmission technologies. In some embodiments, networks1110 and/or 1112 may include local area networks (LANs), wide-areanetworks (WANs), and/or the Internet, and may support communicationprotocols such as transmission control protocol/Internet protocol(TCP/IP), Internet packet exchange (IPX), systems network architecture(SNA), and/or any other suitable network protocols. In some embodiments,data may be transmitted through networks 1110 and/or 1112 using a mobilenetwork (such as a mobile telephone network, cellular network, satellitenetwork, or other mobile network), a public switched telephone network(PSTN), wired communication protocols (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB),Controller Area Network (CAN)), and/or wireless communication protocols(e.g., wireless LAN (WLAN) technologies implementing the IEEE 802.12family of standards, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, Near FieldCommunication (NFC), Z-Wave, and ZigBee). In various embodiments,networks 1110 and/or 1112 may include any combination of networksdescribed herein or any other type of network capable of facilitatingcommunication across networks 1110 and/or 1112.

In some embodiments, transportation management vehicle device 1118 mayinclude a provider communication device configured to communicate withusers, such as drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and/or other users. Insome embodiments, transportation management vehicle device 1118 maycommunicate directly with transportation management system 1102 orthrough another provider computing device, such as provider computingdevice 1116. In some embodiments, a requestor computing device (e.g.,device 1124) may communicate via a connection 1126 directly withtransportation management vehicle device 1118 via a communicationchannel and/or connection, such as a peer-to-peer connection, Bluetoothconnection, NFC connection, ad hoc wireless network, and/or any othercommunication channel or connection. Although FIG. 11 shows particulardevices communicating with transportation management system 1102 overnetworks 1110 and 1112, in various embodiments, transportationmanagement system 1102 may expose an interface, such as an applicationprogramming interface (API) or service provider interface (SPI) toenable various third parties which may serve as an intermediary betweenend users and transportation management system 1102.

In some embodiments, devices within a vehicle may be interconnected. Forexample, any combination of the following may be communicativelyconnected: vehicle 1114, provider computing device 1116, provider tablet1120, transportation management vehicle device 1118, requestor computingdevice 1124, requestor tablet 1122, and any other device (e.g., smartwatch, smart tags, etc.). For example, transportation management vehicledevice 1118 may be communicatively connected to provider computingdevice 1116 and/or requestor computing device 1124. Transportationmanagement vehicle device 1118 may establish communicative connections,such as connections 1126 and 1128, to those devices via any suitablecommunication technology, including, e.g., WLAN technologiesimplementing the IEEE 802.12 family of standards, Bluetooth, BluetoothLow Energy, NFC, Z-Wave, ZigBee, and any other suitable short-rangewireless communication technology.

In some embodiments, users may utilize and interface with one or moreservices provided by the transportation management system 1102 usingapplications executing on their respective computing devices (e.g.,1116, 1118, 1120, and/or a computing device integrated within vehicle1114), which may include mobile devices (e.g., an iPhone®, an iPad®,mobile telephone, tablet computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA)),laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watch, smart glasses, headmounted displays, etc.), thin client devices, gaming consoles, and anyother computing devices. In some embodiments, vehicle 1114 may include avehicle-integrated computing device, such as a vehicle navigationsystem, or other computing device integrated with the vehicle itself,such as the management system of an autonomous vehicle. The computingdevice may run on any suitable operating systems, such as Android®,iOS®, macOS®, Windows®, Linux®, UNIX®, or UNIX®-based or Linux®-basedoperating systems, or other operating systems. The computing device mayfurther be configured to send and receive data over the Internet, shortmessage service (SMS), email, and various other messaging applicationsand/or communication protocols. In some embodiments, one or moresoftware applications may be installed on the computing device of aprovider or requestor, including an application associated withtransportation management system 1102. The transportation applicationmay, for example, be distributed by an entity associated with thetransportation management system via any distribution channel, such asan online source from which applications may be downloaded. Additionalthird-party applications unassociated with the transportation managementsystem may also be installed on the computing device. In someembodiments, the transportation application may communicate or sharedata and resources with one or more of the installed third-partyapplications.

FIG. 12 shows a data collection and application management environment1200, in accordance with various embodiments. As shown in FIG. 12,management system 1202 may be configured to collect data from variousdata collection devices 1204 through a data collection interface 1206.As discussed above, management system 1202 may include one or morecomputers and/or servers or any combination thereof. Data collectiondevices 1204 may include, but are not limited to, user devices(including provider and requestor computing devices, such as thosediscussed above), provider communication devices, laptop or desktopcomputers, vehicle data (e.g., from sensors integrated into or otherwiseconnected to vehicles), ground-based or satellite-based sources (e.g.,location data, traffic data, weather data, etc.), or other sensor data(e.g., roadway embedded sensors, traffic sensors, etc.). Data collectioninterface 1206 can include, e.g., an extensible device frameworkconfigured to support interfaces for each data collection device. Invarious embodiments, data collection interface 1206 may be extended tosupport new data collection devices as they are released and/or toupdate existing interfaces to support changes to existing datacollection devices. In various embodiments, data collection devices maycommunicate with data collection interface 1206 over one or morenetworks. The networks may include any network or communication protocolas would be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art, includingthose networks discussed above.

As shown in FIG. 12, data received from data collection devices 1204 canbe stored in data store 1208. Data store 1208 may include one or moredata stores, such as databases, object storage systems and services,cloud-based storage services, and other data stores. For example,various data stores may be implemented on a non-transitory storagemedium accessible to management system 1202, such as historical datastore 1210, ride data store 1212, and user data store 1214. Data stores1208 can be local to management system 1202, or remote and accessibleover a network, such as those networks discussed above or a storage-areanetwork or other networked storage system. In various embodiments,historical data 1210 may include historical traffic data, weather data,request data, road condition data, or any other data for a given regionor regions received from various data collection devices. Ride data 1212may include route data, request data, timing data, and other riderelated data, in aggregate and/or by requestor or provider. User data1214 may include user account data, preferences, location history, andother user-specific data. Although certain data stores are shown by wayof example, any data collected and/or stored according to the variousembodiments described herein may be stored in data stores 1208.

As shown in FIG. 12, an application interface 1216 can be provided bymanagement system 1202 to enable various apps 1218 to access data and/orservices available through management system 1202. Apps 1218 may run onvarious user devices (including provider and requestor computingdevices, such as those discussed above) and/or may include cloud-basedor other distributed apps configured to run across various devices(e.g., computers, servers, or combinations thereof). Apps 1218 mayinclude, e.g., aggregation and/or reporting apps which may utilize data1208 to provide various services (e.g., third-party ride request andmanagement apps). In various embodiments, application interface 1216 caninclude an API and/or SPI enabling third party development of apps 1218.In some embodiments, application interface 1216 may include a webinterface, enabling web-based access to data 1208 and/or servicesprovided by management system 1202. In various embodiments, apps 1218may run on devices configured to communicate with application interface1216 over one or more networks. The networks may include any network orcommunication protocol as would be recognized by one of ordinary skillin the art, including those networks discussed above, in accordance withan embodiment of the present disclosure.

While various embodiments of the present disclosure are described interms of a networked transportation system in which the ride providersare human drivers operating their own vehicles, in other embodiments,the techniques described herein may also be used in environments inwhich ride requests are fulfilled using autonomous or semi-autonomousvehicles. For example, a transportation management system of a networkedtransportation service may facilitate the fulfillment of ride requestsusing both human drivers and autonomous vehicles. Additionally oralternatively, without limitation to transportation services, a matchingsystem for any service may facilitate the fulfillment of requests usingboth human drivers and autonomous vehicles.

As detailed above, the computing devices and systems described and/orillustrated herein broadly represent any type or form of computingdevice or system capable of executing computer-readable instructions,such as those contained within the modules described herein. In theirmost basic configuration, these computing device(s) may each include atleast one memory device and at least one physical processor.

In some examples, the term “memory device” generally refers to any typeor form of volatile or non-volatile storage device or medium capable ofstoring data and/or computer-readable instructions. In one example, amemory device may store, load, and/or maintain one or more of themodules described herein. Examples of memory devices include, withoutlimitation, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), flashmemory, Hard Disk Drives (HDDs), Solid-State Drives (SSDs), optical diskdrives, caches, variations or combinations of one or more of the same,or any other suitable storage memory.

In some examples, the term “physical processor” generally refers to anytype or form of hardware-implemented processing unit capable ofinterpreting and/or executing computer-readable instructions. In oneexample, a physical processor may access and/or modify one or moremodules stored in the above-described memory device. Examples ofphysical processors include, without limitation, microprocessors,microcontrollers, Central Processing Units (CPUs), Field-ProgrammableGate Arrays (FPGAs) that implement softcore processors,Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), portions of one ormore of the same, variations or combinations of one or more of the same,or any other suitable physical processor.

Although illustrated as separate elements, the modules described and/orillustrated herein may represent portions of a single module orapplication. In addition, in certain embodiments one or more of thesemodules may represent one or more software applications or programsthat, when executed by a computing device, may cause the computingdevice to perform one or more tasks. For example, one or more of themodules described and/or illustrated herein may represent modules storedand configured to run on one or more of the computing devices or systemsdescribed and/or illustrated herein. One or more of these modules mayalso represent all or portions of one or more special-purpose computersconfigured to perform one or more tasks.

In addition, one or more of the modules described herein may transformdata, physical devices, and/or representations of physical devices fromone form to another. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of themodules recited herein may transform a processor, volatile memory,non-volatile memory, and/or any other portion of a physical computingdevice from one form to another by executing on the computing device,storing data on the computing device, and/or otherwise interacting withthe computing device.

In some embodiments, the term “computer-readable medium” generallyrefers to any form of device, carrier, or medium capable of storing orcarrying computer-readable instructions. Examples of computer-readablemedia include, without limitation, transmission-type media, such ascarrier waves, and non-transitory-type media, such as magnetic-storagemedia (e.g., hard disk drives, tape drives, and floppy disks),optical-storage media (e.g., Compact Disks (CDs), Digital Video Disks(DVDs), and BLU-RAY disks), electronic-storage media (e.g., solid-statedrives and flash media), and other distribution systems.

The process parameters and sequence of the steps described and/orillustrated herein are given by way of example only and can be varied asdesired. For example, while the steps illustrated and/or describedherein may be shown or discussed in a particular order, these steps donot necessarily need to be performed in the order illustrated ordiscussed. The various exemplary methods described and/or illustratedherein may also omit one or more of the steps described or illustratedherein or include additional steps in addition to those disclosed.

The preceding description has been provided to enable others skilled inthe art to best utilize various aspects of the exemplary embodimentsdisclosed herein. This exemplary description is not intended to beexhaustive or to be limited to any precise form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations are possible without departing from thespirit and scope of the instant disclosure. The embodiments disclosedherein should be considered in all respects illustrative and notrestrictive. Reference should be made to the appended claims and theirequivalents in determining the scope of the instant disclosure.

Unless otherwise noted, the terms “connected to” and “coupled to” (andtheir derivatives), as used in the specification and claims, are to beconstrued as permitting both direct and indirect (i.e., via otherelements or components) connection. In addition, the terms “a” or “an,”as used in the specification and claims, are to be construed as meaning“at least one of.” Finally, for ease of use, the terms “including” and“having” (and their derivatives), as used in the specification andclaims, are interchangeable with and have the same meaning as the word“comprising.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:identifying a transportation task within a dynamic transportationnetwork; accessing a database of door closing event locations, whereinthe database is populated from observed door closing events within thedynamic transportation network; determining location informationspecifying at least one of a pickup location and a drop-off location forthe transportation task based at least in part on the database of doorclosing event locations; and providing the location information to atransportation provider computing device, wherein a transportationprovider performs the transportation task that comprises at least oneof: picking up a transportation requestor at the pickup location, anddropping off the transportation requestor at the drop-off location. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising; retrieving, from the databaseof door closing event locations, a time of a door closing event at alocation; determining the location information for at least one of thepickup location and the drop-off location based on retrieving, from thedatabase of door closing event locations, the time of the door closingevent at the location.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising;retrieving, from the database of door closing events, historical eventdata at the drop-off location; determining whether a driver side doorexit or a passenger side door exit is more convenient for atransportation requestor exiting a transportation provider vehicle basedon the database of door closing events.
 4. The method of claim 1,further comprising; determining whether a number of driver side doorclosing events occurring at a location is greater than a threshold; andin response to the number of driver side door closing events occurringat the location being greater than a threshold, performing at least oneof: instructing the transportation provider to remind the transportationrequestor to exit a transportation provider vehicle through a passengerside door; instructing the transportation provider to travel to alocation at which the transportation requestor may exit thetransportation provider vehicle through the passenger side door;instructing the transportation provider to query the transportationrequestor as to which side of a street the transportation requestorprefers to exit the transportation provider vehicle; and instructing thetransportation requestor as to which door of the transportation providervehicle to exit.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: unlockingat least one door locking mechanism on a side of a transportationprovider vehicle at the at least one of the pickup location and thedrop-off location, wherein the side of the transportation providervehicle that is unlocked is based at least in part on the database ofdoor closing event locations.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving a time stamp associated with an end transportationsignal or a begin transportation signal from the transportation providercomputing device; receiving a time stamp associated with a door closingevent on a transportation provider vehicle; calculating a timedifference between the time stamp associated with the end transportationsignal or the begin transportation signal and the time stamp associatedwith the door closing event.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein theobserved door closing events are based on sensor data and the sensordata is received from at least one of an accelerometer, a gyroscope, abarometer, and a magnetometer within the transportation providercomputing device.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:identifying popular pickup locations and drop-off locations based atleast in part on the database of door closing event locations; andproviding a recommendation of at least one of the popular pickuplocations and drop-off locations to the transportation provider device.9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: assigning a conveniencescore to the transportation provider based on a level of convenienceprovided to the transportation requestor in performing thetransportation task; and matching the transportation provider to anothertransportation requestor in response to the convenience score exceedinga threshold.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receivingfeedback from the transportation requestor associated with a level ofconvenience of the at least one of the pickup location and the drop-offlocation; and updating map data based on the feedback.
 11. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: identifying a discrepancy between at leastone of: a planned pickup location and an actual pickup location, and aplanned drop-off location and an actual drop-off location.
 12. A systemcomprising one or more physical processors and one or more memoriescoupled to one or more of the physical processors, the one or morememories comprising instructions operable when executed by the one ormore physical processors to cause the system to perform operationscomprising: identifying a transportation task within a dynamictransportation network; accessing a database of door closing eventlocations, wherein the database is populated from observed door closingevents within the dynamic transportation network; determining locationinformation specifying at least one of a pickup location and a drop-offlocation for the transportation task based at least in part on thedatabase of door closing event locations; and providing the locationinformation to a transportation provider computing device, wherein atransportation provider performs the transportation task that comprisesat least one of: picking up a transportation requestor at the pickuplocation, and dropping off the transportation requestor at the drop-offlocation.
 13. The system of claim 12, further comprising; retrieving,from the database of door closing event locations, a time of a doorclosing event at a location; determining the location information for atleast one of the pickup location and the drop-off location based onretrieving, from the database of door closing event locations, the timeof the door closing event at the location.
 14. The system of claim 12,further comprising; retrieving, from the database of door closingevents, historical event data at the drop-off location; determiningwhether a driver side door exit or a passenger side door exit is moreconvenient for a transportation requestor exiting a transportationprovider vehicle based on the database of door closing events.
 15. Thesystem of claim 12, further comprising; determining whether a number ofdriver side door closing events occurring at a location is greater thana threshold; and in response to the number of driver side door closingevents occurring at the location being greater than a threshold,performing at least one of: instructing the transportation provider toremind the transportation requestor to exit a transportation providervehicle through a passenger side door; instructing the transportationprovider to travel to a location at which the transportation requestormay exit the transportation provider vehicle through the passenger sidedoor; instructing the transportation provider to query thetransportation requestor as to which side of a street the transportationrequestor prefers to exit the transportation provider vehicle; andinstructing the transportation requestor as to which door of thetransportation provider vehicle to exit.
 16. The system of claim 12,further comprising: unlocking at least one door locking mechanism on aside of a transportation provider vehicle at the at least one of thepickup location and the drop-off location, wherein the side of thetransportation provider vehicle that is unlocked is based at least inpart on the database of door closing event locations.
 17. The system ofclaim 12, further comprising: receiving a time stamp associated with anend transportation signal or a begin transportation signal from thetransportation provider computing device; receiving a time stampassociated with a door closing event on a transportation providervehicle; calculating a time difference between the time stamp associatedwith the end transportation signal or the begin transportation signaland the time stamp associated with the door closing event.
 18. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the observed door closing events are basedon sensor data and the sensor data is received from at least one of anaccelerometer, a gyroscope, a barometer, and a magnetometer within thetransportation provider computing device.
 19. The system of claim 12,further comprising: identifying popular pickup locations and drop-offlocations based at least in part on the database of door closing eventlocations; and providing a recommendation of at least one of the popularpickup locations and drop-off locations to the transportation providerdevice.
 20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprisingcomputer-readable instructions that, when executed by at least oneprocessor of a computing device, cause the computing device to: identifya transportation task within a dynamic transportation network; access adatabase of door closing event locations, wherein the database ispopulated from observed door closing events within the dynamictransportation network; determine location information specifying atleast one of a pickup location and a drop-off location for thetransportation task based at least in part on the database of doorclosing event locations; and provide the location information to atransportation provider computing device, wherein a transportationprovider performs the transportation task that comprises at least oneof: picking up a transportation requestor at the pickup location, anddropping off the transportation requestor at the drop-off location.